Our programs

Past Projects

Framing Marginalised Art

The Dax Centre has pioneered ethical principles in the display of works by people who have experienced mental illness and/or emotional trauma. In 2010, an Australian Research Council-funded research project, Framing Marginalised Art, was conducted with Melbourne Museum and the University of Melbourne. It resulted in the establishment of the ethical multidimensional model, which comprises the following principles:

1. There are many different dimensions to creative works by people with an experience of mental illness, including, but not limited to, the medical, aesthetic, historical, social, personal and moral.
2. In theory, each of these multiple dimensions is of equal significance.
3. Differences in context and curatorial aims will tend to lead towards the privileging of some dimensions over others, though the viewer should be offered the freedom to decide with which of these dimensions they wish to engage with.
4. Curatorial and audience freedom has limitations. Because the creators of these works are members of a marginalised and stigmatised group, their rights and sensitivities deserve attention.
5. The various dimensions presented in an exhibition should be integrated into a coherent whole.

Understanding Mental Illness through Art: An Independent Evaluation of the Cunningham Dax Collection

This report consists of a comprehensive review of the Dax Centre's programs and outlines the overwhelmingly positive responses to the Cunningham Dax Collection from the general public, artists and mental health professionals alike. Published in 2008 by the Centre for Program Evaluation at the University of Melbourne, the report summarises and analyses the over 10,000 responses received, concluding that most participants expressed a strong desire for the Centre to not only maintain its programs, but to grow.